In the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reaction a gaseous mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen is reacted in the presence of a catalyst to give a hydrocarbon mixture having a relatively broad molecular weight distribution. This product is predominantly straight chain, hydrocarbons which typically have a chain length of more than 2 carbon atoms, for example, more than 5 carbon atoms.
Fischer-Tropsch processes are known which employ slurry bubble columns in which the catalyst is primarily distributed and suspended in the slurry by the energy imparted from the synthesis gas rising from the gas distribution means at the bottom of the slurry bubble column as described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,613.
The Fischer-Tropsch process may also be operated by passing a stream of the liquid medium through a catalyst bed to support and disperse the catalyst, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,988. In this approach the catalyst is more uniformly dispersed throughout the liquid medium allowing improvements in the operability and productivity of the process to be obtained.
We have recently found that a Fischer-Tropsch process may be operated by contacting synthesis gas with a suspension of catalyst in a liquid medium in a system comprising at least one high shear mixing zone and a reactor vessel. The suspension is passed through the high shear mixing zone(s) where synthesis gas is mixed with the suspension under conditions of high shear. The shearing forces exerted on the suspension in the high shear mixing zone(s) are sufficiently high that the synthesis gas is broken down into gas bubbles and/or irregularly shaped gas voids. Suspension having gas bubbles and/or irregularly shaped gas voids dispersed therein is discharged from the high shear mixing zone(s) into the reactor vessel where the majority of the conversion of synthesis gas to liquid hydrocarbon products takes place. The suspension present in the reactor vessel is under such highly turbulent motion that any irregularly shaped gas voids dispersed therein are constantly coalescing and fragmenting over a rapid time frame, for example, over a period of up to 500 ms. The transient nature of these irregularly shaped gas voids results in improved heat transfer and mass transfer of gas into the liquid phase of the suspension when compared with a conventional slurry bubble column reactor. This process is described in WO 0138269 (PCT patent application number GB 0004444) which is herein incorporated by reference.